Well manicured hands and feet present a polished, professional appearance. A major factor in such a manicured appearance is the presentation of ones nails. Many individuals are unable or unwilling, however, to grow or maintain healthy nails of a desired length or uniformity. Alternately, they may not have the time, skill, or financial wherewithal to maintain or obtain a more finished appearance that may result from well manicured and/or polished nails. As a result, entire industries have developed around the artificial supplementation and enhancement of natural nails.
Such enhancements may range from manicuring and polishing of natural fingernails to individually building artificial nails on the natural nail and nail form from an acrylic powder and liquid which chemically bond to the nail surface as the artificial nail is built. Prior to application of an acrylic nail, a bonding agent or primer is applied directly to the natural nail. Typically, a form is placed subjacent the free edge of the user's finger nail or a tip portion is applied to the finger nail when the user desires a lengthening of the natural nail. Acrylic nails are built up and formed directly on the user's own finger nail and the form and/or tip from a mixture of an acrylic liquid (typically methacrylate ester) and an acrylic powder (typically methacrylate copolymer). The operator then dips an applicator brush in the liquid and powder are mixed together to provide a flowable acrylic resin that is repeatedly brushed over the length of the nail and tip and/or form to develop an acrylic nail. The acrylic literally bonds with the user's own fingernail. Although kits are available for home fabrication of such acrylic nails, acrylic nails are typically formed in salons. While such acrylic nails are relatively durable, the process of fabricating acrylic nails is time consuming and can be expensive. The use of acrylic nails also requires regular maintenance as the user's natural nails grow out. Finally, because the acrylic bonds to the nail surface, removal of such acrylic nails from the user's natural nails requires particular chemicals or mechanically prying the developed acrylic nail from the natural nail surface, and can still result in damage to the natural nail.
Between these two extremes of time-consuming manicures and the creation of acrylic nails, are preformed, artificial nails that are glued or otherwise bonded to a person's own naturally occurring fingernails. Such nails are readily available to a wide range of users through drug and department stores. Such preformed artificial nails may be clear or opaque, and/or prepolished and/or decorated to provide the desired appearance. Preformed artificial nails provide users with a relatively quick and economical means by which to provide a polished, manicured appearance.
Such preformed artificial nails are traditionally made of plastic materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene or polypropylene and are secured to the user's nail with an adhesive. The preformed nails may be removed using commonly available acetone nail polish remover, which dissolves the adhesive to separate the preformed nail from the natural nail. Preformed artificial nails may either be polished or decorated once applied, or the preformed nail may include color and/or other decoration prior to application. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “preformed artificial nail” shall mean an artificial nail that is molded, by injection molding or other method of fabrication, into a complete, discrete nail that may then be secured to the user's natural nail, rather than a nail that is formed directly on the user's nail, as with the acrylics described above.
Preformed artificial nails are provided in a variety of lengths to extend the free edge of the user's nail from a relatively short, sportier amount to relatively long, glamorous lengths. Moreover, the free edge of such artificial nails is provided in a variety of shapes to meet the user's preference as to how one might file one's own nails.
Preformed artificial nails are traditionally supplied in either a full nail form or a nail tip form. As indicated by the name, full nails simulate a complete nail, including nail bed and free edge and are adhered thereto, covering the entire nail, including the nail bed and free edge of the nail. The proximate edge is shaped to be disposed substantially adjacent or abut against the cuticle of the finger. In contrast, nail tips do not simulate the complete nail, but, rather, only the free edge and, typically, a small extended portion to cover only a portion of the nail bed in order to facilitate attachment to the nail. In use, nail tips are secured to the edge of the nail bed adjacent the free edge and the tip only.
The distal free edge may have any of various lengths and shapes, such as oval, square, or flared, depending upon the desired look. Additionally, to further simulate a natural fingernail, the artificial nail is typically formed with a curvature between a first side edge and a second side and a curvature between the proximate and distal edges. Preferably, the artificial nail is sufficiently durable and rigid to withstand the hazards inherent in its use.
Manufacturers typically provide users with a range of nail sizes, e.g., identified by size numbers 0-9, to accommodate most nail sizes. Generally, artificial nails are packaged together in sets including a range of different sizes so that the purchaser receives differently artificial nails for their different fingers. In addition to the set of different sized artificial nails, the package may also include liquid adhesive and/or peel-off adhesive pads for bonding the artificial nails to the purchaser's natural fingernails.
It is well known, however, that the contour of natural fingernails varies greatly between individuals and even between different fingers on the same individual. It has been difficult, if not impossible, to produce artificial nails having degrees of curvature between the first and second side edges and proximate and distal edges that accommodate all natural fingernails. While manufacturers may produce a large number of artificial nails with a variety of curves, this solution is undesirable and impractical because of the associated increase in manufacturing costs. As a result, manufactures typically produce a set of preformed artificial nails have varying widths and including set degrees of curvature.
Variations between the curvatures of the preformed artificial nail and the natural nail, however, may affect the integrity of the attachment to the nail, the comfort to the wearer, and the aesthetic appeal of the nail when secured to the natural nail. For example, some individuals have one or more relatively flat nail beds. When attaching an artificial nail that is more curved than the natural nail bed, there will be a gap between the artificial and natural nail bed. In order to adequately bond the artificial nail to the nail bed, a proportionally greater amount of adhesive must be applied. The best bond, however, is obtained from a thin layer of glue between adjacently disposed artificial and natural nail surfaces. A greater amount of glue may result in the formation of air pockets within the volume of glue, weakening the bond. Consequently, the use of a greater amount of glue may actually result in a less durable bond between the artificial and natural nails, and shorten wear time. Moreover, when the user presses the more arched artificial nail downward against the flatter natural nail bed of the user, and the bond is established, the artificial nail will seek to return to its natural, more arched free position. As a result, this pulling on the natural nail bed can cause the user significant pain and discomfort.
To minimize the chances of formation of air pockets within the layer of glue between the artificial and natural nails, and thereby provide a stronger bond between the artificial nail and the natural fingernail and a reduction in user discomfort, it has been proposed that the preformed artificial nail be permitted to flex and conform to the curved shape of a nail bed of a natural fingernail along the nail bed portion. As set forth in U.S. Provisional Application 60/601,895 and PCT Application PCT/US0529170, which are incorporated herein by reference for all disclosed therein, to enable the artificial nail to conform to the nail bed of the wearer, the thickness of the artificial nail body may increase between the proximate edge and the distal edge. Accordingly, the portion of the nail body corresponding to the proximate edge is sufficiently thin to demonstrate a degree of flexibility while the portion corresponding to the distal end is sufficiently thick to provide strength to the artificial nail. In this way, the flexibility of the artificial nail increases as along the length of the nail from a relatively rigid distal end portion to a relatively flexible proximate portion. Thus, the flexibility associated with the portion of the artificial nail corresponding to the proximate edge allows that portion of the artificial nail to be pressed adjacent to the nail bed. More specifically, the flexible portion of the artificial nail can deform to mirror the curve of the nail bed between the first and second sides of the wear's own natural fingernail. As a result, the inventive nail will result in a reduction, and, sometimes, elimination of the pain often caused to the user by the arched nail seeking to return to its free state and exerting and upward force on a flatter natural nail bed.
In selecting between the various nail curvatures, or the flexible nail described above, however, the user is typically left with little more than a written description of the same and/or possibly a picture or artist's rendition of the curvature of the nail. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the user to choose the nail design that is appropriate for her particular nail profile. U.S. Application Publication US 2005-0150814 A1 in the name of Kiss Nail Products, Inc., discloses a “Combination package for artificial fingernails”. The package of the '814 publication includes a sponge-like block through which the nails are disposed in order to display the curvature. This arrangement, however, does not provide for further guidance to the potential purchaser regarding the attributes in the nails displayed beyond the accompanying packaging. Moreover, the block of sponge material is relatively voluminous.